This invention relates to fire extinguishing equipment and specifically to a self-contained truck delivery system for fire fighting utilizing a method of pneumatic atomization.
Fire fighting systems have utilized numerous methods to extinguish fires. Economic waste caused by fire demands continuous improvement in fire fighting means. An effort to develop efficient and economical fire fighting has spawned extensive research and experimentation to improve techniques and equipment. Prior to the making of this invention, fire fighting systems ranged from bucket brigades to the application of sophisticated chemical agents, each having its own limitations. Many fires have raged unchecked because inefficient use of available water, and chemical fire retardants are expensive.
It is an objective of the present invention to minimize the problems recognized in the art by providing an efficient and economical mobile self-contained supply system for fire fighting which utilizes pneumatic atomization. Prior to the making of this invention, those skilled in the art believed that with pneumatic atomization the air used in atomizing the water would feed the fire. Such is not the case. The mass flow ratio of air to water required is very low so that the latent absorbtion of heat by the water applied far exceeds any additional combustion heat the atomizing air might allow to develop. A dense mist or fog of finely atomized water droplets extinguishes fire most effectively. Heat is removed rapidly as the droplets evaporate; the steam created blankets the combustion area and reduces the availability of oxygen; the mist is effectively opaque to infrared radiation allowing close approach to a fire; and, the atomized water droplets float in air and are easily carried into the fire with the combustion air.